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Congressman Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve -- which has gone from a fringe concern to a piece of legislation with majority support in the House -- has found a champion in the Senate. Last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) inserted the full text of the Senate version of Paul's audit the Fed bill as an amendment to the the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. This $3 billion bill contains certain provisions for GAO audits of other federal agencies.

Senate Democrats shot the amendment down after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) raised a point of order, objecting that DeMint's measure violated Senate rules by trying to legislate through an appropriations bill. According to Campaign for Liberty's John Tate, DeMint protested and got the Senate's presiding officer to admit that other provisions were tantamount to legislating through an appropriations bill. That didn't help move DeMint's "audit the Fed" language, but it will help galvanize supporters of an unlikely grassroots monetary issue.